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Sunday, September 18, 2011

My Memories Suite Giveaway

Lately I’ve been blogging here and on
my professional website, 4yourfamilystory.com, about how important it is to get
everyone in your family involved in genealogy and family history. Somehow. But
that's not always easy because they just don’t care about how you found out
something. They just want to know the good stuff.

Also, most people are visual and many
can be swayed by pretty and shiny things. [Even I’ve been known to do this. Can
you blame me? Jewels? Hello?!?] And when it comes to genealogy and family
history, stories with lots of pictures seem to be the bling that gets everyone’s
attention.

And that’s okay. Don’t be frustrated
by this. Go with it. Use it to your advantage. For example, if the only thing
that captures your Uncle Jerry’s attention is the photo of his grandfather from
World War I that you found, and he starts telling you stories about how it used
to freak him out when his grandpa would forget to put his teeth in the morning
and he (Uncle Jerry) had to go fetch his teeth from the drinking glass sitting
on the nightstand next to grandpa’s bed, does it matter? How about when good ol’
Uncle Jerry suddenly remembers he has this box of grandpa’s up in the attic and
he thinks there’s some stuff from World War I that he wouldn’t mind going up
there and getting for you?

I don’t know about you, but I’d be
showing the genealogy and family history bling to all of my relatives as much
as possible. In fact, I’d shine up the bling a wee bit. You know, make people “Ooh!”
and “Ahh!” over it. Make people talk about it. Make people talk about their
family. Make people talk about their stories. Make people talk about their
history. [Plus win points with the older folks in the family.]

So, by now you’re probably thinking, “I
get it, Caroline. It’s okay if my family members don’t appreciate all the sweat
and tears I put into my family history research, but how do I make my photos
and stories into genealogy and family history bling?”

Well, you know for a while now that I
do digital scrapbooking for my blogs. Some have commented on it, and many have
asked me how I do it. I do a lot of it from scratch using Photoshop Elements 7,
but that’s not easy. It’s taken me forever to figure everything out. Two big
books and 3 years later, it’s still not easy, and I get distracted because
there are too many options. It’s not something I’d recommend for the faint of
heart.

But don’t despair. Several weeks ago,
MyMemories.com contacted me and asked if I’d review their scrapbook software,
My Memories Suite. Hello?!? That’s a no-brainer for me. Play with some
scrapbook software given to me and in exchange give my honest unbiased opinion
about it? Duh. “Sign me up,” was my reply.

And? Loved it. What I like best about
it is that it’s intuitive and e-a-s-y. It’s made to do one thing. Digital scrapbook.
Unlike photo editing software powerhouses like Photoshop, you jump in and
create an album with however many pages you want then decide what kind of “output”
you want. The “output” being:

Photobook

Calendar

JPG image to export to your hard drive
[and then other places like your blog]

Printer

Interactive album

iPod movie

Movie

DVD video

That’s right. You create it once then
you can use it many times in many ways. [We’re bound and determined to get
those family members interested. Whatever it takes. Remember?]

Because I always have so many people
ask how I did certain layouts on my blog, I decided to show you 4 different
kinds of layouts that I did using My Memories Suite all using the JPG image
export option. That’s right. Examples of how to bling up your genealogy and
family history stories and photos on your blog.

1. One aspect that I like about My
Memories Suite is that you have the option to use pre-made “Quick Pages” where
all you have to do is enter the photo(s) and some writing [“Some” is the key
word. Heaven forbid you make your family members read too much, right?] Anywho,
this was kind of hard for me to do because I’m creative, and I don’t like
giving up the control. However, once I did it, I realized it was kind of
freeing not having to do anything but stick the photo in it and add some words.
[Who knew?] The following is a photo given to me by a distant cousin [and I’m
using it with permission]. It’s small and scanned at low resolution and orange-y,
and as researchers you know that photos come to us in all shapes and sizes. So,
with a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” attitude [And OMG, it’s a photo of my
3rd
great-grandparents enthusiasm.], I found a “Quick Page” layout ~"Splendor"~ that complimented
the orange-y-ness. [So there.] I think it took all of about 3 minutes to do. [Seriously.]
Now, you tell me. What family member isn’t going to ask me about this [Click image for a bigger view.]:

So, even if you aren’t creative, you
have no excuses for not exhibiting some family history bling using Quick Pages
on your blog. It’s so easy, even my Pug, Millie, could do it. [Okay. She can’t.
It’s that whole no “poseables” thing. But? You have thumbs. No excuses.]

2. In this second example, I did a kind
of hybrid layout using their "Ancestors Legacy" kit. It wasn’t completely “done” for me. I chose the photo layout
part from a list in the software then added the digital paper and elements and
drop shadows. So, I didn’t have to think about how or where to place the
photos. That was done for me. [And doesn’t it look professional?] But I got to
design, to create, and to play. You know, the fun stuff. I really enjoyed doing
this. And doesn’t my Paw Paw [Yeah. Big Paw Paw’s 4th wife ~ after
being his mistress. *rollingeyesheavenward* ] look absolutely gorgeous? [After
seeing these pics, it’s not hard to see why Big Paw Paw’s wandering eye
wandered onto her, is it?] [Click image for a bigger view.]

3. In this example, I decided to show
the capabilities of the software without using any of their kits [either bought
or the ones that come with the software]. You might recognize one photo that I
posted previously on this blog. The one of the 2 views of a pocket watch. Since
I did that post of my husband’s 2nd great-grandfather’s [A.O.
Williams’] pocket watch, I received a photo of him from Great-Uncle Donald last
year. So I cropped the photo of A.O.Williams in My Memories Suite, added it to
the pocket watch photo, and added his name. And presto! An instant winner with
the family, eh? [Click image for a bigger view.]

4. Now, for my last trick. I decided
to show you how you can take a boring document [Well, not boring to me and you,
but boring to our family members. Remember: document = reading = family members get
bored.] and make it come alive. Here is Harve and Pearl Pointer’s original
mortgage paperwork for their farm in Story County, Iowa. [Pearl was A.O.
Williams’ daughter.] So, I added 2 pics of the farm [which is no longer there]
and a pic of Harve and Pearl from about 6 years before this mortgage. Makes it
real, doesn’t it? I challenge any family member to say “Whoop-de-do,” to this. [Seriously.]
All photo placement and decorating was done by me using the "Family Memories Pack" kit that I purchased
from MyMemories.com. [Click image for a bigger view.]

You must go visit MyMemories.com and do some “window
shopping,” find the digital scrapbook kit that you absolutely positively cannot
live without, come back here to Family
Stories, and tell me in the comments below which kit you picked and leave me your email address. You can use the word "at" for @ and "dot" for "." to reduce spam. [I’ll need to notify you if you win. I’m
not psychic. Unfortunately.]

Want
some additional entries? [Optional]

Below are some additional ways to
enter. Remember, though, these aren’t valid if you do not first go
and pick the digital scrapbook kit of your dreams at the MyMemories.com store and tell me which one it is in the
comments below. [I’m ornery like that.] Each one is worth 1 entry.

Also? For each additional entry, you
must enter a new comment. For example:

If you’ve picked “Ancestors Legacy Kit”
as your fave from their store; followed me on twitter; liked the MyMemories Facebook page; and followed
my blog on Google Friend Connect, then you’d make 4 separate comments and that
would give you 4 entries into the contest.

Want
3 additional entries?
For you overachievers, link to this contest blog post from your blog. [Don’t
forget to make 3 separate comments leaving me a link to your blog post where
you’ve linked to this blog post for these entries. And if you understand &
complete all that, you definitely deserve 3 entries.]

If you already follow me on twitter or
somewhere else that’s listed above, then that counts and just say you’re
already doing it in a separate comment.

Don’t want to wait and see if you win
in order to start making family history bling on your blog? Okay.
MyMemories.com has given me a coupon to give to y’all worth $10 off the purchase
of My Memories Suite Scrapbook software. Just enter in this code at checkout STMMMS76098(For best results, just copy and paste it).
And? You also get a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store when you purchase
the software.

Wait.
There’s more.

Don’t forget there’s a $5 coupon towards
any of their kits in their store waiting for you when and if you go like the
MyMemories.com Facebook page.

So. What are you waiting for? You only
have to enter once by telling me your fave kit from the MyMemories.com store in
the comments below. There will only be one randomly-picked winner. But
remember: the more entries you make, the more chances you have of winning.
Questions? Click the red “Contact” button in the left hand corner of your screen.

[Disclosure: MyMemories.com gave me a free copy of My Memories Suite software to use and review and to promote this giveaway. All of my opinions are my own. MyMemories.com is also providing a free copy of the software for the lucky winner of this giveaway.]

Great review! I really wanted to learn more about this software. I did some window-shopping and it is hard to limit it to one kit! However, I LOVE "My Family Tree 1" What a beautiful tree! quiltedpastatgmaildotcom

Thanks for the entries, y'all. Good luck!!! I just think it's important we share with our family in a way that will interest them in order to get the dialogue started. And? I think this is a beautiful way.

And Jenna you are SO right. Too bad her hands/arms aren't up by her head...

Oh my goodness, I know I am too late to enter here, and it's ok, because I actually won the software from another blog. But I have to stop and say that I absolutely love the way you have blinged up your genealogy. I aspire to do the same.

Shades of the Departed

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About Me

As a genealogist, a family historian, a writer, and a blog
author, I've been blogging stories about my ancestors since 2009
on Family
Stories. Additionally, I've been having epic results
combining family history, genealogy, technology, research services, tutorials, and videos on my blog 4YourFamilyStory.com.

When I'm not blogging about dead people,
coaching others on how to use technology to find dead people, or researching
other people’s dead people, I can usually be found in an antique store
searching for letters, post cards, tickets, photos, books, etc. once
owned by people who are now dead.